Indra and Brihadashva

Four gods — Indra, Agni, Varuna, and Yama — desire Damayanti and choose Nala to deliver their proposal. Nala has already promised to do their bidding, but when he learns the task, he protests: he himself desires Damayanti. The gods insist he keep his word.

Damayanti has assembled the kings of the world, but when Nala arrives among them, she bows to the gods and speaks directly to him — confessing that she has been tormented by a swan's words and has chosen him over every other man present, including the gods themselves.

Nala returns to the assembly of the gods, who question him about everything that happened. He recounts his entire conversation with Damayanti — her declaration of love, her threat of suicide, and her plan for the svayamvara — and submits the decision to them.

When Damayanti enters the svayamvara arena, she finds five identical men — the four gods disguised as Nala and Nala himself — and cannot tell which is her chosen husband. She prays to the gods, asking them to reveal their true forms, and they grant her request, allowing her to see Nala's mortal signs and place the garland around his shoulders.